The Power of Luck and Character in Life Success

Maybe some of you reading this just had a game this past weekend or getting ready to start the season. Perhaps your third-quarter earnings are coming out over the next few weeks. Whatever the reason, the word luck will be used to determine the outcome. You either had bad luck or good luck based on the result.

Naval Ravikant (@naval) is the CEO and co-founder of AngelList. He's invested in more than 100 companies, including Uber, Twitter, Yammer, and many others. He has a podcast that touches on many intriguing subjects. It's a great brief listen and offers excellent advice.

Ravikant breaks luck down into three generally well-known areas:

1. DUMB OR BLINK LUCK. When a person stumbles across something and becomes successful. We can't explain the success, so we label this person blindly lucky. The ball seems to bounce in their favor.

2. FORTUNE FAVORS THE BOLD. That is a person that gets lucky from stirring the pot, taking high risks, and getting a high reward. How many times have you read or heard that we all need to be bold—take chances, and the rewards will be great? Tons of times. But we never hear about the bold steps that result in dumb mistakes. Being bold only works when there is a calculation between risk and reward.

3. CHANCE FAVORS THE PREPARED MIND. Or as former Brooklyn Dodger GM, Branch Rickey once said, "Luck is the residue of design." You make your luck through hard work.

The Fourth "Luck" that Naval talks about centers on our character. Naval urges his listeners to improve their character by working hard on reliability, reading habits, understanding the classic books, and becoming an expert in their craft. When you build your character in a specific way, then "your character becomes your destiny." Developing your character is a marathon, not merely a sprint. Always remind yourself that Warren Buffett didn't start making enormous amounts of money until he hit his fifties. About 99.7% of Buffett's wealth was earned after his 52nd birthday. We must always think long term in our actions and behaviors.

The longer we work on improving our character with a growth mindset, the closer we become in increasing our luck. When we are accountable for our lives each day, the more opportunities will pass our way, which we might view as lucky, yet in reality, they aren't.

If you have the talent and master a specific skill to the highest level, people will discover you. We are all interconnected, therefore, when your skills shine, your character is elevated, and luck will find you.

Understand wisely and earnestly, luck cannot be developed, but your character can every day.

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